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John J. Pershing best known as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. Having graduated from West Point, Pershing was assigned to the Sixth Cavalry and spent the early years of his career fighting Native Americans to protect white settlers.
Pershing inherited an army that was not prepared for battle. When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, there were only approximately 300,000 American Expeditionary Forces. That number immediately grew to over 2 million within a short time. The army was still struggling with organization.

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11 Things about General John J. Pershing That You Did Not Know! | Black Jack Pershing: Love and War | PBS LearningMedia

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Did you know that World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918? A well known commander led the U.S. forces during World War I and was honored as the highest-ranking general in the history of the U.S. Army.

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Born in Laclede, Missouri, on September 13, 1860, he was the first child born to John Fletcher Pershing and Ann Thompson Pershing.  At 14 years old, his father placed him in charge of his family while he worked as a traveling salesman. He would later study and become a teacher. After reading an advertisement announcing an entrance exam for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he decided to take the test to earn a free education. Incidentally, he did not want to be a soldier. He wanted to study law. "There won't be a gun fired in the world in a hundred years. I'll study law, I guess. But I want an education and now I see how I can get it."

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General John "Black Jack" Pershing (1860-1948) served in the Indian Wars, the Spanish-American War, the Philippines, the Mexican Intervention and World War I.

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Army Leadership defines leadership as “influencing people by providing purpose, motivation, and direction while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.”  Pershing was:
Culturally adept:  commanded a detachment of Sioux Indian Scouts during the final days of the “Ghost Dance’ campaign of 1890
Excellent organizational skills: He was instrumental in developing effective means of training soldiers, ensuring that they had proper meals, transportation, and equipment.
Decisive and Detail-oriented: He led by example.
Patient:  He patiently negotiated with the Moro. It took four campaigns before he finally defeated them.
Disciplined: He was a staunch believer in maintaining his military bearing and felt that all soldiers should do the same.

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American troops during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, 1918

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When General Bullard failed to follow his orders and ultimately cost the lives of several soldiers, General Pershing covered for him because they were friends. "Bullard scorned orders from Pershing’s staff that required teamwork and coordination.” (Helmore,2017)
The Meuse-Argonne offensive showed the arrogance that Pershing possessed. It became the deadliest battle in American history with over 26,000 killed a the time. This was due to the inexperience of many of the troops and the tactics used during the early phases of the operation.

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Promoted to General of the Armies, the highest American military rank

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1. Transformed inexperienced troops into an effective military force thus creating the first modern army
2. Updated military training techniques
3.  Emphasized physical fitness
4. Established professional schools for officers
5. Reorganized and expanded the military education system
6. Mentored future leaders: Gen. George Marshall, Gen. George Patton, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur

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"A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary, an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops."-General Pershing

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Intolerant and Quick Tempered:  “Too old,” “very fat and inactive,” “could not begin to stand the strain” were some of the judgments he made of his generals (Fleming,2018)
Lack of Flexibility: His decision to abandon trench-style warfare for open warfare tactics cost many lives (Hickman,2019)
Self Promoting: He used his influence to bypass other officers to obtain positions (Fleming,2018) Additionally, he ensured that his loyal followers received key military appointments.
Impersonal: He was known to dress down his men in front of other officers (Runkle,2017) He possessed  "An uncanny ability to ingratiate himself with men in high places"
Discipline: His strong military bearing often alienated him, thus generating his negative nickname "Black Jack"

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Pershing had a natural talent to mold and transform the abilities from students to the military. What I took away from this reading was his organizational skills and able to give clear directions on what he wanted.

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Why is studying Pershing is relevant today

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Why is studying Pershing is relevant today

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General Pershing was instrumental in developing leaders and his organizational skills remain vital to an ever-changing military.  Leaders must shape other leaders.

Pershing was a leader who understood culture and how to immerse himself within a culture to truly understand it. Leaders with cultural intelligence can effectively lead a diverse workforce.

He was not a born leader, but he studied and mastered the skills needed to execute effective leadership. He understood people and this is a vital skill in leadership.

Pershing understood the big picture and provided a clear vision. His leadership style provides us with a framework of visionary leadership.

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"Military genius is really only the capacity to understand and apply simple principles founded on experience and sound reasoning," Pershing

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General Pershing laid the groundwork for the modern army.

Despite the heavy toll and high cost of lives lost, the lessons that Pershing provided on modern warfare helped to establish guidelines for future combat operations. He established the modern military manager.

He also modified and streamlined the logistics of how equipment would be ordered and how military leaders and subordinates would be trained. His organizational skills were and remain instrumental in how we deploy forces.

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11 Things about General John J. Pershing That You Did Not Know! | Black Jack Pershing: Love and War. (n.d.). Retrieved from PBS Learning Media: https://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/5c190c98-9514-4699-beee-6486c3ab5008/the-11-things-about-general-john-j-pershing-that-you-did-not-know/

Fleming, T. (2018, March 2). Iron General . Retrieved from History Net: https://www.historynet.com/iron-general/

Helmore, E. (2017, March 25). Death and glory: the first world war US general whose ambition did for his men. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/26/us-general-robert-lee-bullard-ambition-disobeyed-orders-first-world-war-meuse-argonne

Hickman, K. (2019, June 4). World War I: Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Retrieved from Thought Co.: https://www.thoughtco.com/world-war-i-meuse-argonne-offensive-2361406

John Pershing. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/people/john-pershing.htm

Runkle, B. (2017, October 3). When Marshall Met Pershing. Retrieved from War on the Rocks: https://warontherocks.com/2017/10/when-marshall-met-pershing/